A guarantee of death is one thing in life that all people hold in common, whether a result of a long term illness or a sudden unexpected passing. The most typical reaction to a death of a loved one is to celebrate and honor their life with a wake or funeral. Funerals and memorial services gather family members and friends together to reminisce, provide an outlet for people to express their love and fond memories of the departed loved one, and bring a sense of closure for those loved ones who are left behind. The remains of the departed one are either buried or cremated, according to individual or familial preference. While burials probably will always be performed, cemeteries are becoming crowded and burial cost is skyrocketing. More and more people are turning to cremation as an affordable, practical and environmentally friendly alternative to internment. Increasingly embraced by people from all walks of life and all religious backgrounds, the number of cremations performed each year is steadily increasing with cremation accounting for approximately thirty six percent of funeral services, and these numbers are expected to rise in coming years. After a body is cremated, surviving family member determine how cremated remains are handled. Many families have ashes interred at local cemeteries or mausoleums, but the cost of doing so is rather expensive. Requiring purchase of a dedicated funeral plot, housing remains in this manner is impractical for consumers who must adhere to a strict budget. While others opt to scatter a loved one's ashes beneath a favorite tree, a garden or at sea, releasing remains in this fashion presents challenges. The slightest wind makes carefully emptying an urn of ashen remains extremely difficult to complete. The prior art has put forth several designs for dispersing cremated ashes including the following references.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,114 to John L. Reece describes a method for cremating human remains by launching the remains into the upper atmosphere or beyond to cause the remains to combust through heat generated during atmospheric reentry.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,260 to Joan B. West and Clyde E. West describes methods for preparing, transporting and dispersing cremated remains with a balloon, and a container providing a clean environment for carrying out this method. Cremated remains are deposited into a balloon which is filled with gas, transported to a launching site and released. To provide an environment that assures substantially complete and safe transfer of the cremated remains to the balloon as well as to provide a sealed chamber for inflation and transport of the balloon, a special container having interior surfaces of vinyl or other barrier materials is used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,784 to Bonnie J. Harden describes methods and various embodiments of an apparatus to address the dispersal of cremated remains. The methods involve steps which avoid any tendency to retain cremated remains within a container, steps which assure dispersal of cremated remains in only one desired direction, and steps which assure continuous and complete dispersal of all cremated remains. The invention also presents several embodiments including both a fabric bag and a mechanical apparatus for dispersing cremated remains. The disclosure addresses the utilization of existing air currents, the application of the invention to aerial dispersion, and designs which address simplicity of operation and manufacture. A fabric apparatus is disclosed which includes both an outer shell and an inner liner and a flap to seal the apparatus. The fabric apparatus presented may be rolled and transported by means of a handle. The mechanical apparatus presented discloses a sealed container having a hinged door.
None of these prior art references describe the present invention.